The present invention concerns the field of aero-hydroponic growing systems for plants. In an aero-hydroponic system, the plants are not grown in soil as in traditional farming techniques, but rather are grown in a bath of oxygenated liquid nutrients.
The typical existing aero-hydroponic systems have a main reservoir containing the liquid nutrients. Apart from that reservoir will be some sort of tube in which the plants will be supported. Typically the plant are supported in the tube by small mesh cups filled with either clay, rock or gravel. These small mesh cups will have some sort of openings near the bottom to allow the liquid nutrients to flow in and out and reach the plant roots. The cups containing the plants will then be set into openings in the top of the tube. A pump will be used to move the nutrients from the main reservoir into the tube where the nutrients will be sprayed onto the bottom of the plant roots.
One of the problems with existing aero-hydroponic systems is that no effective means for level control and aeration in the plant tube is provided. In general, the existing systems just allow recirculation of the liquid nutrients back into the first reservoir with no aeration or control over the level of nutrients in contact with the plants. Without effective aeration or level control in the plant tube, these systems suffer from the problem that if the flow of the nutrients from the pump is interupted due to a power failure or clog for example, the plants will die much sooner than in a system providing for level control and aeration.
In addition, the current systems where aeration is not provided have much slower plant growth. The existing systems merely provide a film of nutrients along the bottom of a tube or trough without aeration.